DIY Sugar Scrub and Cacao Butter Body Spread

Recently, I broke up with excessive body care spending. Fourteen dollars for a two ounce jar of body butter, and twenty-two for the same size body scrub began to feel like a bit of rip off. No offense to the brands I was purchasing from––I still buy natural cosmetics, facial and hair care products from them, but with an apothecary full of essential oils, and the base ingredients available in the bulk section of my local market, I no longer felt good in the body care relationship.

To lighten up on routine spending, I decided to end my relationship, and chose instead to, eh em, do it myself…make products by hand that is.

In less than an hour I made a decadent cacao and coconut body spread, and a truly edible sugar scrub. Both of these can be transformed into an essential oil wonderland if you are into that kind of thing. I am!

Curious how to Do it Yourself? It goes like this…

Get Your Ingredients for the Body Spread

Look for 16-ounce tubs or packages of cacao butter at your natural foods market. Grab that. Then, if you have a bulk oil section, fill up a jar with about 1/2 cup of sweet almond oil. Alternatively, purchase a pre-packaged bottle of the oil…it’s really not all that expensive. Also buy one (16-ounce) jar of coconut oil. You’ll use only 1/3 cup for this batch and can cook with the rest. It also makes an excellent moisturizer for your hair and is an effective fly-away tamer!!

Bringing it all Together:

Make sure you have a double broiler. Add water to the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the two cups of cacao butter to the top pan. Heat until it melts completely. Stay close to the stove during the process so you can monitor the melting yumminess…you don’t want it to burn. Once it’s been completely liquified, transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl. Add coconut oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil and essential oil if using. Mix together and put in your freezer for about 20-30 minutes, just until you start to see the oil sticking to the bowl.

Pull it out and grab your hand mixer. Beat the oil blend on high until it turns opaque white-ish-yellow, about two to three minutes. Divide the blend between a few glass jars, apply lids and you’re done. It will set up again in cooler weather so when ready to apply, just scoop it out and rub between your hands to melt. In warmer weather, the consistency remains much more spreadable. Use liberally, especially on skin that tends to love moisture like hands, heels and lips. I spread the chocolatey butter on every square inch of my epidermis and you may want to too!

Now for the Body Scrub…

First of all, for the sugar––shop the bulk food isle at your health food market as buying this way is much more cost effective.

I like my scrub to be pretty abrasive so I prefer a ratio of 3/4 turbinado sugar to 1/4 cane sugar. Experiment with different quantities until you achieve a texture you know you’re skin will love. Also, feel free to add any essential oils of your choice. Vanilla oil and lavender are especially soothing to the senses.

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